Friday, December 15, 2006

OT: Fixing The Diabetic Mouse

Canadian researchers cure Type 1 diabetes in mice. The researchers found that misfiring nerves in the pancreas were to blame for the condition, not an autoimmune defect as had been previously believed. Further, they discovered that mice with type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance rather than insufficient insulin production) also responded to the treatment, which involved direct injection of a neuropeptide "substance P" into their tiny pancreases. The mice with type 1 diabetes almost immediately started producing insulin again, and continued to do so for up to four months. Human trials may start as early as one year from now. Wow.